~ for immediate release

news release  April 3, 2007

news media advisory

Contact: Heather Emmons, DRI PIO, heather.emmons@dri.edu, Reno (775) 673-7313 (w), (702) 743-3435 (c)
Laura Edwards, CoCoRaHS Nevada State Coordinator and DRI Asst. Research Climatologist, cocorahs@dri.edu, (775) 674-7010
All DRI news releases available at http://news.dri.edu/
For more information about CoCoRaHS, visit: www.cocorahs.org

Volunteer weather observers needed for new Nevada Rain, Hail & Snow Network

Reporters and Editors, Please Note

WHO: Anyone with an interest in and enthusiasm for watching and reporting weather conditions and a desire to learn more about how weather can affect and impact lives.  Volunteers do not need to be a CoCoRaHS registered observer to attend.

WHAT:Volunteers are needed a few minutes a day to measure precipitation in their area using a rain gauge and report it on the website. The first training class is  scheduled for THIS SATURDAY.

WHERE: Spanish Springs Library meeting room, 7100 Pyramid Highway, Sparks, Nev.

WHEN: THIS SATURDAY, April 7 from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

WHY: Members of the community with an interest in weather can help their community, as well as scientists and others interested in precipitation, by doing hands-on science. Members will benefit from becoming more aware of the weather that impacts them and their community.

ABOUT COCORAHS: CoCoRaHS is an acronym for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. It is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow).   By using low-cost measurement tools, stressing training and education, and utilizing an interactive Web-site, the aim is to provide the highest quality data for natural resource, education and research applications. CoCoRaHS currently operates in 18 states: Colorado, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The network originated with the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University in 1998 thanks in part to the Fort Collins flood a year prior.  In the years since, CoCoRaHS has expanded rapidly with over 3,500 observers in 18 states.

ABOUT DRI: A nonprofit, statewide division of the Nevada System of High Education, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national and international scale.  More than 500 full- and part-time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct more than 300 research projects at DRI annually.  DRI generates almost $50 million in total revenue consisting predominately of competitively won research contracts and grants. The State of Nevada provides critical funding in support of DRI's administration, operations and maintenance through the Nevada System of Higher education budget.  While DRI’s portion of the NSHE budget is approximately 1 percent, the institute leverages these funds to enhance its competitiveness.

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